COPD: Clearing Your Lungs

COPD: Clearing Your Lungs

Introduction

COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is a long-term illness
that makes it hard to breathe. When you have COPD, air does not flow easily
into and out of your lungs. You may be short of breath, cough a lot, and have a
lot of mucus in your lungs. Learning to clear your lungs may help you save
energy and oxygen and may also help prevent lung infections.

There are three things you can do to
clear your lungs:

Controlled coughing. This type of coughing
comes from deep in your lungs. It loosens mucus and moves it though your
airways.

Postural drainage. You lie down in different positions to
help drain mucus from your lungs.

Normally, mucus in the body is thin and fluid. Mucus protects and
moistens the lining of body organs, such as the lungs, stomach, and intestines.
It also helps remove bacteria.

But if you have COPD, your airways
may make more mucus than normal. The mucus may be so thick that it gets stuck
in your lungs and airways. This makes it hard to breathe and easy to get
infections.

Infections in the airways and lungs cause coughing,
wheezing, and breathing problems. An infection may lead to more mucus in your
lungs that becomes thicker and harder to move. The mucus may also change
color.

Controlled coughing

Coughing is how your body tries to get rid of mucus. But the kind of
coughing you cannot control makes things worse. It causes your airways to
close. It also traps the mucus in your lungs.

Controlled coughing
comes from deep in your lungs. It loosens mucus and moves it though your
airways. It is best to do it after you use your inhaler or other medicine.
Follow these steps for controlled coughing:

Sit on the edge of a chair, and keep both feet
on the floor.

Lean forward a little, and relax.

Breathe in slowly through your nose, and fold your arms over your
belly.

As you exhale, lean forward. Push your arms against your
belly.

Cough 2 or 3 times as you exhale with your mouth slightly
open. Make the coughs short and sharp. Push on your belly with your arms as you
cough. The first cough brings the mucus through the lung airways. The next
coughs bring it up and out.

Inhale again, but do it slowly and
gently through your nose. Do not take quick or deep breaths through your mouth.
It can block the mucus coming out of the lungs. It also can cause uncontrolled
coughing.

Rest, and repeat if you need to.

Postural drainage

Postural
drainage means lying down in different positions to help drain mucus from your
lungs.

Hold each position for 5 minutes. Do it about 30 minutes
after you use your inhaler. Make sure you have an empty stomach. If you need to
cough, sit up and do controlled coughing.

Follow these steps for
postural drainage:

Lie down on a bed or the floor. Use pillows to help you with different positions.

Lie on your back. Make sure that your chest
is lower than your hips. Put two pillows under your hips. Use a small pillow
under your head. Keep your arms at your sides.

Then follow these instructions for breathing: With one hand on your belly and
the other on your chest, breathe in. Push your belly out as far as possible.
You should be able to feel the hand on your belly move out, while the hand on
your chest should not move. When you breathe out, you should be able to feel
the hand on your belly move in. This is called
belly breathing or diaphragmatic (say
"die-uh-fruhg-MAT-ik") breathing. You will use it in the other drainage
positions too.

If you have questions about this information, print it out
and take it with you when you visit your doctor. You may want to use a
highlighter to mark areas or make notes in the margins of pages where you have
questions.

If you would like more information on COPD, the following
resources are available:

Online Resource

Smokefree.gov

Smokefree.gov

Web Address:

www.smokefree.gov

This Web site was created by the Tobacco Control Research Branch of
the National Cancer Institute with important contributions from other national
agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and the American Cancer
Society. It offers an online guide to quitting smoking, including online
messaging and telephone support from the National Cancer Institute.

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